Gazprom

Europe's energy crisis loomed larger on Sept. 2 after Russian energy giant Gazprom said it couldn't resume the supply of natural gas through a major pipeline to Germany for now. The company cited what it said was a need for urgent maintenance work to repair key component- in an announcement made just hours before it had been due to restart deliveries.

President Rumen Radev described as shocking the price of natural gas for September after returning from an official visit to the UAE. Yesterday, the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (EWRC) decided that it would rise the price by nearly 19% compared to August and make it BGN 353.21/Mwh.

Russian state-backed energy company Gazprom is ready to pay the Kremlin 2.5 billion rubles after posting record profits.

The company reported a net profit of 2.5 billion rubles for the first six months of this year. Oil and gas prices rose during that period, pushed up by supply concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Toplofikatsia Sofia (Heating Systems Sofia) owes BGN 399 million to Bulgargaz," Denitsa Zlateva, executive director of Bulgargaz, announced on BNT.

She reminded that "Bulgargaz" cannot by law stop the supply of gas to heating companies and will seek new loans from the Ministry of Energy.

Russia has stopped the supply of natural gas through the Nord Stream pipeline, Russian and Western news agencies reported.

Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off its gas supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for maintenance work on Wednesday, further raising tensions on an already taut electricity market.

Entsog, the operator of the pipeline, announced that gas deliveries had been halted shortly before 0600 GMT.

"The estimated price of natural gas will be around BGN 350 (EUR 179), which is an increase of around 17 percent compared to the price for August," said Denitsa Zlateva, executive director of Bulgargaz, after the meeting of the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation.

According to her, this is due to the increased stock market index.

"Bulgaria did not make the right decision regarding the old contract with Gazprom. There is no way to sign a new contract. Every step is a big problem. We are going to arbitration, most likely."

The Russian invasion of Ukraine more than 6 months ago has caused a dramatic spike in natural gas prices and caused repeated energy shocks in Europe. The EU has accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon, while Russia denies this and blames western sanctions for the drop in exports.

The caretaker government does not intend to negotiate a new short-term, medium-term or long-term contract with Gazprom, but only to obtain quantities under the existing contract.